Posted: Thu, Jan 20, 2005, 7:52 AM ET (1252 GMT)
A Russian Kosmos launch vehicle placed two satellites into orbit early Thursday. The Kosmos 3M booster lifted off from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in northern Russia at 10:00 pm EST Wednesday (0300 GMT Thursday) and released its payloads into low Earth orbit an hour later. the booster's primary payload was Kosmos 2414, an Russian military satellite. Also launched was Tatiana, a 30-kilogram satellite built by Moscow State University to commemorate its 250th anniversary. The university will use the satellite for educational projects.